Published 3:04 am, Thursday, February 10, 2011

The iPhone 4 released on Verizon Wireless this morning, officially bringing one of the most popular and ubiquitous smart phones in the world to Plainview.

While the local customer showing wasn't as spectacular as it was at stores in bigger cities - about 10 people showed up at 5 a.m. to secure a place in line at the local Verizon Wireless store, the only place in Plainview to purchase one - that some people were willing to brave single-digit temperatures to secure one of the limited number of phones is telling of the smartphone's popularity.

The phone's debut was enough to bring Olton native Robyn Rose to Plainview from Lubbock, where she is a student at Texas Tech. Rose stayed in Olton on Wednesday night in anticipation of the phone's release and was at the Verizon store about 6:30 a.m. today.

"I didn't want to mess with all the people over there (in Lubbock)," she said.

Rose is one of many throughout the nation who have been waiting for the smartphone to be offered on Verizon.

"Nothing else will work in Olton," Rose said, "and I'd rather just stay on Verizon with my parents.

". . . It was definitely worth it. I'm so excited."

AT&T had been the exclusive carrier of the iPhone since it was first released in 2007, but the strain placed on AT&T's network by the phone began to cause customers to regularly experience dropped calls and slow data speeds. Those complaints fueled rumors for nearly three years that the iPhone would eventually come to Verizon, which is generally considered to have more quality and wide-reaching service.

Finally, on Jan. 12, Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam and Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook announced the device would end its exclusivity agreement with AT&T, which meant the iPhone would be available in Plainview and the surrounding area. The urban focus of AT&T is what has kept the iPhone from being more popular in rural areas like Plainview.

Before the device came to Verizon, having an iPhone in Plainview required receiving service from a city such as Amarillo or Lubbock where AT&T maintains 3G coverage. Even then, having an iPhone in a rural town forced the phone to operate at less than maximum capacity.

AT&T only maintains towers in Plainview and the surrounding areas that provide EDGE (2G), AT&T's precursor to its current 3G network. The iPhone is designed to take advantage of 3G speeds.

With Verizon now carrying the phone, Plainview and area residents will be able to use 3G speeds, which will allow them to download music, apps and surf the Internet at a much quicker pace compared to the EDGE.

With all of the benefits Verizon's network provides and the new ease of getting a phone where he lived, Cargill accountant Brody Suddendorf decided to switch from Sprint to Verizon.

"I really just decided kind of this week (to get an iPhone)," Suddendorf said. "I've been running Sprint, and it's been running fine, but I've always wanted the iPhone - I'm kind of a Mac guy - and I was going to wait. I was gonna let them work the bugs out, but I was like, whatever, no time like now."

Suddendorf was at the store at 6 a.m. and was happy he was able to get in, get his phone and service set up, and still be able to make it on work on time.

That excitement was magnified by the new toy in his hand, which received its first text message as he walked out of the store.

"I feel like life . . . I can just check it off the bucket list," Suddendorf said. "Get an iPhone - that's goal No. 1."

Suddendorf and Rose were among the likely 80 people who will be able to get an iPhone at Plainview's Verizon store, where employees were unable to comment on much of anything due to restrictions placed on them by Apple - the maker of the smartphone - and Verizon. However, the store appeared to have around 80 iPhones combined of the 16- and 32-gigabyte variations stacked in two towers behind the counter.